A report by professional services firm EY shows mergers and acquisitions in the biopharmaceutical industry skyrocketed in 2015, with the value of announced deals totalling more than US$300bn. | 8yrs

Litigation funder Burford has been granted a licence to launch an alternative business structure, opening up the prospect of a funder pumping cash into its own law firm. | 8yrs

Envoys representing the US, UK, EU and Australia have protested the current bill on the opening of Korea's legal market in a joint statement, prompting criticism from Korean lawyers' groups of their 'intervention in domestic affairs.' | 8yrs

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) will hold managing partner elections for its European practice, as William Boss has resigned after less than twelve months in the role. | 8yrs

Startup Everlaw has announced an $8.1m round of funding from high-profile venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, with ex-Microsoft Windows boss Steven Sinofsky joining the company's board. | 8yrs

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that a Romanian company did not infringe an employee's privacy rights when it accessed an account in order to monitor his communication. | 8yrs

An overhaul of Clifford Chance's equity structure is 'still on the agenda' at the firm, with a consultation being done through the regions and practice areas up to the leadership group on a potential move to a full-equity partnership. | 8yrs

Matthew Kay has been named as the new head of Vario, Pinsent Masons' flexible legal resourcing service. | 8yrs

Law firm Leigh Day has accused the British government of violating international law by enabling the export of British-made arms to Saudi Arabia, which may have been used to kill civilians. | 8yrs

Hogan Lovells has made a key City hire with Pinsent Masons financial services chief John Salmon, as it attempts to optimise its positions for opportunities in the fast-growing financial technology (FinTech) market. | 8yrs

Litigation finance firm Lake Whillans has released its first ever Life Sciences Law Firm Index, identifying which firms are the most active and relevant for life science companies. | 8yrs

Three Italian consumer groups have filed a complaint urging EU antitrust regulators to investigate McDonald's franchise system in Europe, a month after the opening of an EU inquiry into the company's tax deals with Luxembourg. | 8yrs

Argentina's Finance Ministry yesterday said it will make an offer to US hedge funds later this month, in order to end a legal standoff that has locked the country out of global credit markets for more than a decade. | 8yrs

A new report by security software provider IS Decisions has found that the lack of unique logins, manual logoffs and concurrent logins is putting confidential information in the legal sector at risk. | 8yrs

Slaughter and May and Sullivan & Cromwell face a challenge in the US over claims they provided improper advice to Standard Chartered during an investigation into sanctions violations. | 8yrs

A student entrepreneur who created a website to enable people to challenge fines and claim compensation has created a free robot lawyer to make claims on behalf of customers. | 8yrs

The iconic image of the American dollar bill could be forced to change if a federal lawsuit filed in Ohio is successful. | 8yrs

In a move welcomed by the SRA and industry groups, concerns over the standards and affordability of legal services are to be examined by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). | 8yrs

Bird & Bird's accounts show the firm's net debt rose 21 per cent in the last financial year to €46.3m from €38.3m in 2014, following a refinancing of the business. | 8yrs

An interim report from a landmark review of civil justice has backed the creation of an online court for claims worth up to £25,000. | 8yrs